Guard for ear ornaments



March 17, 1936.

G. J/QCLEOD GUARD FOR EAR ORNAMENTS Filed NOV. 18, 1935 v INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 17, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GUARD FOB, EAR ORNAMENTS Grace McLeod, Bakersfield, Calif.

Application November 18, 1935, Serial No. 50,309

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a guard, for use with the familiar clamp-on type of ear ornament, which will prevent loss of the ornament by the wearer, should the clamp of the ornament release 5 its grip on the wearer's ear.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device of the class described which will not be visible when in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a guard for ear ornaments which will maintain the ornament in position on the ear should the attachment clamp. of the ornament become loosened.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of means which, while functioning primarily as a guard to prevent the loss of ear ornaments, will also act to remove the weight of the ornament from the lobe of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple means whereby a guard may be quickly attached to, or removed from, an ear ornament.

The invention possesses other objects and valuable features some of which together with the foregoing will be specifically set forth in the specification hereunto annexed. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the particular form thereof shown and described as various embodiments thereof may be employed within the scope of the appended 30 claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the safety guard applied to the wearers ear to support an ear ornament thereon.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the safety guard attached to an ear ornament.

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross sectional view, taken transversely through the clamp screw of an ear ornament, showing the means for attach- 0 ing the safety guard thereto.

I am aware that there are on the market, at the present time, several types of guards used for the purpose of preventing loss of ornaments from the ears of a wearer. One well-known type utilizes a very fine chain which is secured at one end to the ornament and at the other end to a wire hook which is placed over the top of the ear in the cleft formed by the junction of the helix of the ear with the head. Another type is composed entirely of wire and is attached directly, at one end, to the ornament, and bent at the other end to form the ear engaging hook. In both cases the ear ornament is provided with the familiar screw clamp by means of which the ornament may be secured to the ear lobe. The undesirable feature about the first of these guards is that the chain, being flexib1e,'will not maintain the ornament in position on the ear should the attachment clamp ofthe ornament become sufficiently loosened as to release its grip on the ear. Should this loosening occur, the ornament will drop from the ear and dangle at the end of the chain until replaced on the ear by the wearer. Inthe other guard, described above, the wire must be bent by hand to properly fit the ear, and it is of course obvious that this is a tedious task. In addition, if it is desired that the fit be as near perfect as possible, the asistance of another person will be required to mount the guard. In any event, regardless of the degree of perfection of the fit, if the ear ornament be removed and replaced on the ear in a position slightly higher than that which it occupied when the guard was fitted, the function of the latter will be destroyed since, if the ornament becomes loosened it may possibly drop from the ear, due to the looseness of the guard.

I have overcome these undesirable features by providing a guard which, at all times, regardless of the position on the ear in which the ornament is placed, is in constant secure engagement with the ear, which will remove a major portion of the weight of the ornament from the ear, and which if the ornament becomes so loose as to release its grip on the ear, will maintain the former in position thereon.

In detail, the guard of my invention is adapted for use with any type of clamp-on ear ornament 4 provided with a clamp screw 5 by means of which the ornament may be mounted on the lobe 6 of the wearer's ear 1. The guard itself comprises a length of very fine spring wire, such as piano wire, bent at one end to provide a hook 8 which is adapted when the guard is in use, to engage in the cleft formed by the junction of the helix 9 of the ear and the head l0. The extreme end of the wire, as is shown in Figure 1, is bent slightly more acutely than the remainder of the hook so as to provide a portion l I which slightly overlaps the helix. This construction is provided so that the book 8 may not be readily dislodged once it has been positioned.

The opposite end of the wire is provided, as shown in Figure 3, with a hairpin bend l2 to to form a loop I3 encircling the clamp screw 5 of the ornament, and with a band I l which positions the free end l5 of the wire in angular relationship with the main body portion Hi thereof. Due to the resilience of the wire, the loop l3 will open, if it is desired to remove the guard from the clamp screw, by moving the latter longitudinally of the loop toward the bend ll, the converging portions of the wire forming the loop assisting the spreading of the latter without the exertion of a great deal of force. Likewise, when it is desired to attach the guard to an ornament, the angular relationship of the free end I5 of the wire with the main body I6 thereof, forming a V, will materially assist in moving the clamp screw, or any other portion of the ornament to which itis desired to attach the guard, into the loop l3.-

As will be noted, both extreme ends of the wire are headed to provide thereon small heads I! which afiord the wearer protection of the skin against abrasions which would be caused by the sharp ends of the wire in the absence of the heads.

Intermediate the hook 8 and the loop iii the wire is wound helically to provide a tension spring 3 in axial alinement with the axis of the wire. This spring is for the purpose of affording a degree of resiliency between the ear-engaging hook and the ornament-engaging loop so that regardless of the position, on the lobe of the ear, in

which the ornament may be clamped, the hook more perfectly to the curve of the junction of the ear and head than would be the case if a wire guard devoid of the spring were used.

The superiority of the guard of my invention over those now in use will be evident when it is considered that little or no manipulation of the guard is required to procure a satisfactory fit on the ear; that regardless if the ornament clamp is loose or not, the guard will support the ornament on the ear in its correct position; that the guard may be quickly attachedpto and detached from the ornament; and that by the provision of the spring intermediate the hook and the loop, the guard may not only be adjusted to fit ears of diiferent sizes but will also serve to help support'the ornament and, thereby lessen considerably the discomfort caused by the tension on the ear due to the weight of the ornament if the latter isquite heavy, as is often the case.

WhatI claimis:

1. A safety guard for ear ornaments comprising a flexible member coiled to provide a cylindrical spring portion having the ends of said member extending axially therefrom at each end thereof, means on one end of said member for engaging the ear of the wearer and means on the other end of said member for engaging an ornament.

2. A safety guard for ear ornaments comprising a flexible member coiled to provide a cylindrical spring portion having the ends of said member extending axially therefrom at each end thereof, means on one end of said member for engaging the ear of the wearer, said means comprising an arcuately bent portion of said member adapted to engage the ear between the junction thereof with the head, and a more acutely bent portion, at the extreme end of said first bent portion, adapted to overlie an exposed portion of the ear, and means on the other end of said member for engaging an ornament.

3. A safety guard for ear ornaments comprising a flexible member coiled to provide a cylindrical spring portion having the ends of said member extending axially therefrom at each end thereof, means on one end of said member for engaging the ear of the wearer, said means comprising an arcuately bent portion of said member adapted to engage the ear between the junction thereof with the head, and a more acutely bent portion, at the extreme end of said first bent portion, adapted to overlie an exposed portion of the ear, and means formed solely by the other end of said member for engaging an ornament.

4. A safety guard for ear ornaments comprising a flexible member coiled to provide a cylindrical spring portion having the ends of said member extending axially therefrom at each end thereof, means on one end of said member for engaging the ear of the wearer said means comprising an arcuately bent portion of said member adapted to engage the ear between the junction thereof with the head, and a more acutely bent portion, at the extreme end of said first bent por- 

